A Couple's Christmas
by Mettespo
Summary: Mac and Will have been back together for about five weeks and really need some alone time. AU set after Season 2
1. All I want for Christmas is You

**All I want for Christmas is you**

„Mac, _please_... I really think we need this."  
Will wasn't too proud to start begging and with a sigh his fiancée looked up from the papers on her desk and got up to walk around it where she stopped right in front of him. It was shortly after the final rundown meeting and Will had been pestering her all day, just like the day before and the day before that, every chance he'd got.

Sliding her hands up his chest to his shoulders she placed a soft kiss on Will's lips and then fixed her eyes on his. „This really means a lot to you, doesn't it?"

Will moved his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. „It does. We've got engaged almost five weeks ago and we've hardly had any time to ourselves since then. The election aftermath, Genoa, you moving in... I really think we need some _quality time_ together... alone." He put specific emphasis on the last word and raised one of his hands to cup her cheek before running it through her hair. „I miss you, MacKenzie..."

„I'm right here, Honey." Mac smiled at him. „We've been together almost 24/7 these last weeks, can't you share me with my family for just a few days over Christmas?"

Now it was Will's turn to sigh. „I know we're with each other most of the time, but honestly: How much time have we spent alone, just the two of us? And I'm not counting the hours we were sleeping which would be most of the time in question... Working, going to Hang Chew's afterwards to boost morale, meetings with Rebecca, moving, dinner invitations from Charlie, Leona and everybody else who wants a piece of the happy couple... I feel like we have less alone time than before our engagement! At least then nobody bothered us because they didn't want to be caught in the midst of another fight... I'm really starting to miss these days, Mac!"

Mac giggled at Will's slightly desperate tone and buried her hands in his hair. „I know, Billy, if you say it like that we picked a really bad time to get engaged." She pulled him down for another kiss. „It's not that I don't want to spend the time with you, but I've promised my parents weeks ago that we would come to London. And you approved, if I might add..."

Will growled. „I know, but that was before I knew our schedule for this last month. I checked and we actually had five evenings at home without having to unpack boxes or go through our Genoa testimonies... _Five_ evenings in as many weeks, Mac! That's just not enough!"

„I know, Baby..." Mac sighed and squeezed his shoulder. „And I miss it, too, but it's gonna get better in the new year."

„Maybe, but it's still gonna be everyday life. We need to get away from it all for a while." He frowned in concentration while his hand moved up from her behind to her back. „Let _me_ talk to your parents, I'm sure they'll understand. And we can visit them at the end of January or in February, maybe over Valentine's Day. We could stay a whole week instead of just a few days as you've planned for christmas...?"  
Will was now openly baiting her; he had no idea how she would react to his suggestion but it didn't take long to see that he had taken the right road.

„ _Really_? You think we can get away for a whole week with this Genoa mess?" Now Mac actually sounded excited, and Will knew he only had to play his cards right.

„I'm pretty sure, Hon. The depositions will be in January and after that there's not much more for us to do but wait..." Then inspiration struck. „I'll even go to Tate Modern with you...?" He saw Mac's eyes lighting up and grinned. „You know what a sacrifice that is for me!"

She laughed. „I do, and it shows me better than any words how much you want this holiday..." Looking up at him she leaned in to kiss him and then moved her lips to his ear. „Okay, if you can sell it to my parents we have a deal. Five days at Christmas for a whole week in February..."  
With a gentle bite into his earlobe she pulled back and laughed at the happy smile on his face. „Don't party too soon, you'll have to deal with Mom first. And I won't forget about Tate Modern..."

„Your Mom likes me, it'll be fine." Will was confident. „I'll turn on my charm and you'll see. And as long as you don't make me buy some gruesome painting I'll survive a day with the so-called arts." This time he leaned down for a kiss, enjoying it a little longer then Mac did before, but he suddenly pulled back. „But don't tell anybody here, okay? Even in days of text messages and Skype people tend to rather leave you alone when they think you're out of the country instead of just a couple hundred miles away. I want it to just be _us_..."

„Deal, but now go and work on your script, or your EP will have some words with you."

„You know... That's actually tempting..." Thinking back to talkative Mac from the previous night Will grinned lewdly and quickly stepped out of the vicinity of her hand before she could slap him for this remark, even if meant playfully.

„Not those kinds of words, you nitwit!" Easing the name-calling with an affectionate smile she walked back to her desk chair. „Now _go_ and finish your script!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::

In the end his phone call to Mac's parents wasn't as difficult as expected. They understood their wish to be alone for a few days and were also mollified by the promise to come visit them at a later date.  
However, this didn't mean that they let Will off the hook that easy. Especially Claire, Mac's mother, couldn't refrain from hinting at him probably only wanting to be alone with her daughter to have _a jolly good time in the bedroom._ Not that _she_ would mind, looking at their age and taking the fact into account that she was still waiting for her first grandchild...

Mac had barely been able to suppress her laughter when she saw Will's face blush, getting redder by the minute. She knew her mother and was quite certain that she could guess in which direction she had steered the conversation.

But all that was forgotten now that she and Will were driving upstate in their rental car. They had set out early this Saturday morning for a five day trip – Christmas really lay very convenient for the working class this year with the 25th falling on a Tuesday – and the skyscrapers of New York City had slowly changed into quiet suburbs with houses decked in christmas decorations before they entered more rural areas. By now Mac was watching the landscape turning more and more into a winter wonderland with every mile they travelled towards the Adirondacks.

Her hand resting on Will's thigh the silence was comfortable, only occasionally interrupted by a short remark when one pointed out some interesting feature beside the road to the other.

„I'm really glad we are doing this." Mac finally sighed and looked at Will, who gave her a quick smile before looking back at the road. Taking her hand from his leg he lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss to her palm. „Me, too. It's going to be wonderful."

„Mmmh... I didn' expect this much snow; I'm so glad we're not on a plane to London now."

„I've talked to the owner a couple of days ago, and he said that they haven't had this much snow in years. They are even expecting more."

Mac looked at him again and squeezed his hand that was still holding hers. „Thanks, Billy."

„You're welcome, Honey. Pure vanity, though..." He winked at her. „Now start looking for a small sign on your side of the road that says „Hank's Cabins & Chalets". It should be coming soon and then it's not far anymore."

„ _Hank's_?" Mac raised her eyebrows. Will hadn't told her where they would go, but that name sounded like some rustic log cabins where they had to cleave the wood themselves to have it warm inside, nothing like anything she had expected.

Will grinned. „Just wait and see, Honey."

After about another five minutes they saw the signpost and turned right, leaving the cleared main road and entering a smaller, snow covered path that continously led them higher up the mountain. The mantle of snow became higher and higher and Will was glad he had followed the advise he had gotten and rented a SUV with four-wheel drive; with a normal sedan they would never have made it up this far.

Finally they followed a turn in the road and Mac gasped in surprise.  
In front of her lay a beautiful block house covered in snow and christmas decorations, which were very tasteful. No colored, flashing lights or big red plastic Santas climbing the roof, but stylish christmas sculptures of wood and stone, a few strategically placed holiday lights and an enormous christmas tree with balls which seemed to be made of colored glass.

„Will..." Mac breathed and then smiled at him. „This is beautiful!"

„It is, isn't it? I'm glad you like it." He parked the car in a convenient spot close the the main house with several log cabins squattered nearby in walking distance, and they both got out. While Mac stretched a little and then took a deep breath in the clean, crisp air, Will stepped around the car and put his arms around her from behind, turning them around a little. „Look over there, the lake."

„Oh Billy... How far is it? Can we walk there?"

„I think so, at least if the way is cleared from snow, but we can find out. Let's check in and get the key for our cabin." He took her hand and led her to the wooden patio where the entrance door was located. Stepping into the lounge a burning fireplace welcomed them and a young women looked up from behind the reception, smiling at them. „Welcome to 'Hank's Chalets and Cabins'! I hope you had a nice trip?"

Mac smiled and took a step towards her desk but Will stopped her. „Why don't you get yourself warmed up over there, I'll handle everything."

Mac wanted to protest but sensed that he really didn't want her to be part of the check-in and closed her mouth again. He probably had a surprise waiting for her, so with a squeeze to his hand she just nodded and walked towards the fireplace.

This place was just beautiful, and coming from the hustle of New York during Christmas time it was hard to believe that just a couple of hours away such an idyllic and peaceful place existed.

Will had been right, they really needed this time to get away from everything. As wonderful as the past six weeks had been, with all the stress at work they had hardly had any opportunity to spend some quality time together. And has lovely as Christmas with her family would have been, she knew exactly, that aside from the normal holiday fuss, Will and she would have been grilled by her mother and her sisters about what had happened on election night and how their reconciliation had come about, having only been given a short, compact version over the phone so far.

She knew that her family didn't believe a word of the story they had heard, moving from zero to engaged in lightning speed, but was convinced that they had been back together before already. So Will and she both would be poked and prodded for more details they simply weren't able to give.  
Yes, spending the holidays here was definitely the much more relaxed option, though obviously meeting her family was only a pleasure deferred...

She sighed at this thought and just that moment Will stepped up behind her, pulling her against her chest. „What's this? No gloomy thoughts while we are here, rule # 1."

Mac placed her hands over his covering her stomach and slightly tilted her head to look up at him. „Oh? There are rules? What are the others?"

Will nibbled at her ear lobe before whispering in a teasing voice „To enjoy ourselves and have outrageous amounts of sex..."

Mac quickly drew her lower lip between her teeth to refrain from a moan that threatened to come out at his words. Of course she was expecting to spend a lot of time with Will in bed – and probably elsewhere – over the holidays, but having him announce it so blatantly had the heat pool in her stomach instantly.

„I think I'd like to see our cabin now, Billy." She tried to sound normal, but Will just knowingly looked at her and chuckled.

„Then come with me, your carriage awaits, Mylady." With a courteous bow he offered her his arm and when they stepped out on the porch Mac gasped again. Will hadn't exaggerated; there really was a horse-drawn sleigh waiting for them outside!

„Will! That is... But the cabins are right over there, we can easily walk!"

„Just wait and see..." Will greeted the driver, helped Mac to her seat and set down next to her, not forgetting to cover them both with a warm blanket. Once they were securely seated the coachman clicked his tongue and the two horses fell into a measuredly trot.

Mac didn't have a choice but to snuggle into Will who had put his arm around her shoulder, and let her eyes enjoy the winter wonderland that was passing by. Shortly before they reached the first of the cabins the sleigh turned right, and they entered into what seemed to be a service road through the adjoining forest that showed a few tracks from horses and probably snow mobiles, but didn't seem to be used that often.

Snow was covering the trees and every once in a while she could catch a glimpse of the glistening lake Will had shown her before.  
Mac was certain that Will had arranged this sleigh ride to show her where they would spend the next days and expected to be on a round trip back to the main lodge, so she was completely caught by surprise when after about ten minutes going slightly uphill at a leisurely pace the road made a turn, and the sleigh stopped in front of a magnificent log chalet, set against a mountain backdrop and offering a stunning view over the lake.

„Billy, this is... It's gorgeous! And _huge_! Isn't it much too big for the two of us?"Mac didn't move her eyes from the snow-covered house in front of her, completely flabbergasted at how Will had managed to organize this at such a short notice. But before she could ask him Will had sent off the driver with a generous tip and took her by the hand to lead her to the entrance on a narrow footpath that had been shoveled through the snow.

The stairs leading up to the porch as well as the deck itself had been meticulously freed from the snow that was piling up by the feet all around them. „Welcome to our little christmas hideaway, Sweetheart."

Opening the door Will guided Mac into the house. After taking only a few steps inside she stopped to admire her surroundings, completely overwhelmed. Mostly built from wood the spacious living room in front of her immediately gave her a warm, homy feeling. A large window front offered a breathtaking view over the lake and filled the room with sunlight, the reflection of the snow making it almost hurtful to the eyes to look outside.

When Mac didn't move and just stood in the entrance way, taking in her surroundings and momentarily speechless, Will spoke.

„Well, do you like it?"

„I have to admit, hearing the name I thought... Well, I didn't expect _this_!" Mac turned around and Will was relieved to see her excitement and the merry sparkle in her eyes. He knew she would have enjoyed the time with her parents and so would he, but he hadn't been lying when he had told her that he felt they both needed to get away from everyone and everything for a while to be by themselves.  
Then his thoughts snappped back into the present when he heard her sigh deeply.

„Did I tell you already that I'm glad you insisted on getting away?"

„I think you mentioned something like that, yeah..." Will now grinned a little smugly and pulled her into his arms. Mac melted right into him, but then she moved back a little to look up into his eyes.

„How did you even manage to book this so close to Christmas?"

Will smiled, pleased with himself. „Wolf had told me about this place and I had them send me a brochure months ago already, before we were even engaged. I liked it and thought maybe one day I'd come up here. When you agreed to not go to London I thought it was worth a shot and believe it or not, they had just had a cancellation, so here we are..."

„How bold, I like it... Do you know that you are a genius?" Mac lifted herself onto her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. „ _And_ you are not afraid to bargain with my mother – What more can a girl ask for?"  
This time Mac pulled him down for a longer kiss that made him groan, but before he ran the risk of shoving her against the wall right here on the doorstep Will quickly took her hand to show her the rest of the house instead.

The living room was very spacious with the couches and wing chairs arranged around an impressing stone fireplace. Everything was very tastefully decorated in country style motives but classy and yet low-key at the same time, a theme the decorator followed through in the whole house, as Mac was to find out.

Large glass doors opened onto a wide, canopied terrace with a whirlpool on one side and a sitting area next to a top of the notch barbeque grill on the other.

The other rooms on the ground floor included a large kitchen, a bathroom with a built-in sauna, a TV lounge as well as a games room with a pool table and a selection of board games. Upstairs they found the master suite where their luggage was already waiting for them, three smaller bedrooms plus another couple of bathrooms.

„Seeing all these beds I hope you don't intend to sleep alone tonight?" Mac grinned at Will and then slid her arms around his waist to lean against his chest.

„Not a chance..." Lifting her chin with his index finger he leaned down to kiss her, softly at first before letting it get more urgent when the first moans escaped her. After a while though he pulled back with a last swipe of his tongue over her upper lip and mumbled „Why don't you get changed and then we try to find a way down to the lake?"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::

After a wonderful two hour walk along the lake they returned to their luxurious 'hut' half frozen. Although Will had the kitchen stocked before their arrival he suggested to have an early dinner at the restaurant that belonged to the resort to start their little holiday completely relaxed. So after a quick, hot shower to warm up he moved the snowmobile out of the adjoining shed and Mac, warmly dressed like an eskimo, settled against his back and held on.

It was only a short drive, a lot quicker than with the carriage they had arrived with, and soon they were settled in the cozy restaurant, close to the fireplace.

There were already some other guests seated this early, and while they waited for their drinks to be brought Mac let her gaze wander across the room. Suddenly her eyes widened almost comically and she grabbed Will's arm.

„Oh, I thought you wanted to spend the holiday alone! What are _they_ doing here?"


	2. Twas the Night Before Christmas

_Remember - This is an AU, so don't be surprised by the appearance of some people who normally wouldn't belong there..._

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 **'Twas the Night before Christmas**

Will turned to look into the same direction as Mac and froze. „Wh... What the fuck? You've got to be kidding me! How did _they_ get here? You hopefully don't believe that _I_ invited them here?"

She shook her head and softly squeezed his forearm. „No, of course not. Especially with the way you were talking about this trip. I'm sorry, Billy, I know you planned it differently, but we need to go over there and say hello."

„Do we _really_ have to? Maybe they won't see us..." Will whined.

Mac shook her head at him again, indulgently this time, and stood up. „Come on, Billy, anything else would be just weird and impolite."

Will sighed, but then got up to follow her to the other side of the room, already regretting his decision not to cook in their own kitchen tonight and his mood rapidly dropping by a mile.

Sloan and Don were so engaged in their conversation that they didn't see them approaching, and Sloan startled when Mac put her hand on her shoulder. Quickly looking up Don's face took on a completely stunned expression. „What are _you_ doing here? We thought you are on your way to London?"

„Mac! Will!" Sloan squealed with delight and quickly jumped up to hug her friend. „What a surprise!"

„I know!" Mac returned the hug with a big smile and then inconspicuously elbowed Will in the ribs to say something.

„Surprise indeed..." Will grunted, barely concealing his displeasure. „How do you even _know_ this place?"

Don scratched his head and smirked sheepishly. „Actually... I saw the brochure on your desk quite a while ago. It looked nice, so when we were looking for a place to spent christmas... And as you talked about going to see Mac's parents..."

„Well, we're delighted to see you..."

It was obvious to Don that Will didn't mean these words in the slightest, so the little mean streak inside him caused him to shrug and add nonchalantly. „Then you'll be even more delighted tomorrow – Maggie and Jim are also coming..."

„ _Of course_ they are..." Will sighed resignedly, while Mac smiled in surprise. „I assume...?"

„Yeah..." Now Don grinned. „Saw the brochure on your desk a while ago."  
While he continued talking Will grumpily glanced over to Mac. and seeing her trying to hide her grin he squeezed her thigh under the table, a tacit promise for some sort of revenge later.

„We each planned this completely on our own, but when we found out we'd all be staying here we decided to just do it instead of drawing straws who would cancel. I mean, it's not that we have to spent our time together, is it?

„Of course we don't." Mac assured him brightly, though Will knew that she was actually talking to him, asking him to be nice. So for her sake he forced himself to smile, quite sure that it didn't look completely natural, and asked if Don and Sloan would mind if they sat with them for a while.

As expected they didn't and Will pulled out a chair for Mac before sitting down himself, motioning to the waiter to bring their drinks to this table instead.

It wasn't that he didn't like the two, he really did. Especially Sloan was like a little sister to him, but he saw them every day at work and really hadn't expected to meet anybody he knew out here. And also you normally didn't bring your sister to a romantic weekend, did you...? But oh well, if Mac wanted to he could hang out with them for a couple hours, as long as he was going to have her for himself for the rest of the time they were up here...

In the end they actually spent a nice evening with Don and Sloan, hardly talking about work at all. After a sumptous meal and a last drink for the road that Don insisted on buying to make up for stealing their holiday idea, they stepped out together. When Don saw Will heading for the snowmobile he snorted and pointed at the row of cabins. „What? Too old to walk these few yards?"

„Ha ha, funny! Our cabin is a little further up the mountain, so if you'll excuse us...? Mac?"

MacKenzie quickly gave her friends a hug and wished them a lovely stay in case they wouldn't see each other again, before putting on her gloves and the hood of her warm winter anorak to get comfortable behind Will again.

Starting the motor he turned to the other couple and waved. „Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas everybody, and to all a good night!"

Snickering Mac slid her arms around his waist again. „Take me home, you doofus...!"

„Your wish is my command... G'Night, guys!" Quickly driving off it only took them a few minutes before they stopped in front of their chalet, and Will let Mac dismount before he parked the vehicle in the shed.

Knocking the snow off their boots on the porch Will looked around. „I think we didn't come back a minute too early, the wind's picking up. The girl at the reception said that they are expecting another snow storm."

„Mmmmh...You, me, hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire and a blizzard outside, that's all I need for christmas..."

„Well, then it's good that I didn't get you any other presents." Will smirked and opened the door to let them in.

Mac followed him and started to take off her outer clothes. „ You know, I would almost believe you if you hadn't acted so mysteriously lately – Odd phone calls you couldn't take with me in the room, closing your laptop as soon as I entered... You'll need to work on your covert skills, _James_..."

„I will." Will gave her a quick kiss and pointed her into the direction of the kitchen. „Mama Bear is going to make hot chocolate while Papa Bear will start the fire?"

„Definitely. Marshmallows with yours?" When Will nodded she left for the kitchen, and only a short while later they found themselves in front of a crackling fire. Will was nestled in the corner of the comfortable couch while Mac had settled between his stretched out legs, her back against his chest, both of them warming their hands on the hot cups of cocoa and looking into the flames.

Mac sighed. „This is really nice... You were right, we really needed this..."

Will hummed in agreement and placed a kiss on her head. „Yeah... Although I could have gone without having half of the newsroom here... Did you know they were coming?"

„No, of course not or I would have said something when we arrived. But don't overthink it; should we meet them somewhere we'll say 'hello' and talk a little, but we don't have to invite them to dinner, okay? I mean, they also just got together, so they'll probably have other plans than hanging around with us..."

„Mmmh..." Will put his empty cup on the side table behind him and let both arms glide around Mac's upper body, his hands resting on her stomach. „But from now on I'll lock my office."

„Bad idea, then I can't come in anymore either..."  
Will could feel her barely suppressed laughter by her stomach muscles rippling underneath his fingers and retaliated by gently nibbling on her earlobe. „Good point, we can't have that, can we...?"

„You're choice..." Now she laughed out loud, her happiness and contentment just bubbling over in enjoyment of the comfortable banter and his touch she had missed for so long, and it seemed that Will's thoughts had travelled into the same direction.

He sighed. „I am _so_ glad that you said 'yes' when I stumbled through my proposal, if you can even call it that..."

„It was lovely, Billy... and special... And not only because it was the only proposal I ever got and ever want to get in my life. And mind you, the only one I would ever accept... Did you really believe for a second that there was a chance I would have said 'no'?"

He tightened his grip a little as he looked back upon that moment a few weeks ago. „I was actually terrified. I thought my firing you might have been the last straw that broke the camel's back... I've put you through so much, I couldn't have blamed you for leaving..."

Now Mac put her mug aside as well and placed her hands on his. „We've talked about this, Billy, and we're _fine_. I'm here and I do not intend to leave..." She moved up a little and turned to lie on her side so that she could look into Will's eyes to emphasize her next words. „I'm not _ever_ going to leave! I love you, and that is never going to change. You have to stop doubting us!"

Will knew that; she had told and shown him often enough, but everything was still so fresh that sometimes he just needed a little reassurance that this really was his life now. „It sometimes just feels so surreal that we are so happy again... I love you, MacKenzie, I love you so much..."

Leaning forward he captured Mac's lips with his own and tried to show her just how much, putting all his love into it. She let herself fall into the kiss immediately, but after a moment her position became too uncomfortable and she urged him to scoot down a little so that she could lie on top of him. It took him moment before he realized what she wanted, but then he readily obliged and continued kissing her with a satisfied groan when he felt Mac's hands sliding into his hair.

His own hands wandered down to cup her behind, causing her to happily sigh into his mouth. After a short moment though she broke the kiss and sat up on her knees.

Her eyes fixed on his face she pulled her cable-knit sweater over her head and started to unbutton the blouse she was wearing underneath. Will couldn't avert his gaze and and followed every tiny motion of her fingers. When she was done he intended to pull her down again, but she held his hand and moved backwards on the couch, so that he had to follow her into an upright position.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise but before he could ask what this was about she leaned in for another short, promising kiss. „There is one thing I can't stop thinking about since we've arrived..."  
Biting her lower lip she picked up the room remote from the table and turned off all lighting before she nodded towards the fireplace that was now the only source of light in the room. „Make love to me in front of the fire, Billy?"

With this she got up, smiling at the suddenly even hungrier expression on Will's face who was frozen in place. He watched her opening the buttons on her jeans while her eyes darted down to his now blatantly obvious arousal.

Mac quickly stepped out of her pants and then moved in front of the fireplace where she lay down on the so cliché (but luckily politically correct, high-end synthetic) polar bear rug. Resting on one ellbow she licked her lips in anticipation but found that she had to be even more direct when Will didn't move. „Are you coming or what?"

These words seemed to wake him from the daze he was in, just staring at her mesmerized, and he immediately got up and shed his clothes while his eyes never left the sight in front of him. Finally he kneeled down next to her and let one finger run down her body, starting at her chin, down her throat and along the valley between her breasts, circling her belly button before reaching her panties...

Afterwards they just lay in each others arms for a long time, no danger of getting cold with the heat radiating from the fireplace. Finally Mac lifted her head from Will's chest to look at him and whispered. „Promise me, Billy, that you will never get tired of me."

Softly tucking some strands of hair behind her ear he smiled at her. „That's a given, MacKenzie, I don't even have a choice in that, even if I wanted..."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The following days they spent sleeping in, enjoying the sauna and the whirlpool, taking long walks out in the snow which was piling up more with every day, as well as warming up afterwards in front of the fireplace – in different ways – and of course christening almost every room of the chalet.

It was a very relaxing time and when they returned from their walk on Christmas Eve Will told Mac to go change while he would start Christmas Dinner.

She only grinned and went upstairs to get her present for Will to put under the beautifully decorated Christmas tree. It had been put up on Saturday by some lodge staffers after the management had confirmed that they would indeed like to have one in their chalet.

They had decided to give each other only a small gift this year, them being together again and spending the holiday away being enough. In wise foresight Mac had also set a very low price limit, because she knew that Will would argue that diamond earrings or a platinum necklace were indeed small... Now she was definitely looking forward to him opening the little box she had just placed under the tree.

After a delicious dinner they settled on the couch and exchanged their boxes. Will insisted that she opened her present first and inside she found a wonderful antique golden bracelet with a delicate pattern. Mac gasped and looked up . „Billy... It's beautiful! But didn't we say...?"

Will didn't let her finish. „I didn't break the rules, I promise. It was my mother's who got it from her grandmother, so technically it didn't cost me anything..." Will winked at her but then turned serious again . „She wanted me to give it to my wife, and I would love for you to wear it some day - if you like it that is..."

„Oh Billy, of course I do!" Mac wiped away a tear that threatened to fall and then held out her arm. „Put it on, please."

Will did and they both looked at it for a moment before Mac took his hand and squeezed it firmly. „I'll be very proud to wear it, Billy, thank you!"

She looked at him for a moment before laughing a little sheepishly. „Oh god, my present is so inane compared to this...!"

„I'm sure it's not." He slowly unwrapped his gift and then looked at her. „A deck of cards?"

Mac grinned, moved into his lap and put her arms around his neck. „I thought we could use the time and play a little strip poker?"

Immediately Will's eyes turned dark and he tightened his grip on her waist. „Are you sure about that? You know what a damn good player I am..."

Smirking she slowly let her fingers run through his hair. „That's the great thing about this present: In the end we'll both get something out of it..."  
With a giggle she leaned in for a promising kiss before climbing off his lap. „Let's get started!"

The first round went to Will, as he had predicted, and Mac made quite a show of removing one of her earrings. Letting his eyes roam over the various pieces of jewellery she was wearing he chuckled. „I'm getting the feeling that I'm slightly underdressed for this game..."

Mac sneered at him. „I need a headstart... I promise you though, I won't take off your ring... Next round."

Will grinned, but dealt out the cards again. „You and sports... It's not exactly a headstart, rather some kind of insurance or safeguard."

They were in the middle of the fourth round and Mac had lost her second earring, her scrunchie as well as her necklace while Will had only given up his left shoe so far, when there was a knock at the door.

„Who the hell...?"  
Will quickly put back on his shoe and went to the front door, Mac in his tow. When he opened it he was facing an older man, slim-build with white hair.

„I am so very sorry to be disturbing you, Mr. McAvoy. Ms. McHale." He nodded into her direction before going on. „My name is Hank Tucker, I'm the proprietor of 'Hank's Cabins and Chalets'. With all of the snow that has been coming down one of the power lines to the lodge has been interrupted and now the main building as well as the cabins in its vicinity don't have any electricity. The chalets on the outskirts of the premise, like yours, have their own generators, that's why you haven't been affected by this, but we would like to caution you to save power where possible. We are hoping everything will be fixed tomorrow morning, but we can't make any promises."

Will nodded. „Well, thank you for the information, we'll be fine. And if need be we still have the fireplace in the lounge and the master bedroom. Merry Christmas."

With this he wanted to close the door but Hank quickly raised his hands. „That is exactly the problem. I know it is a lot to ask, but some of our newer cabins that were just added don't have a fireplace yet, so the guests staying there are sitting in the freezing cold. Now there are some folks who say they are friends of yours; would you maybe be willing to offer them a roof for the night?" When he saw Will's face getting dark he quickly added „Of course we will give you a special deal on your stay here and all extras will be on the house!"

Will really felt sorry for the owner and of course the other guests, but this was _their_ christmas and he wouldn't let anybody spoil it. But just when he wanted to politely turn the man down Mac came up to them and put a hand in his back. „I assume you are talking about Ms. Sabbith, Mr. Keefer, Mr. Harper and Ms. Jordan? Of course they can stay with us for the night, we have enough room, don't we, Darling?"

„But Mac..."

„Sweetie, you wouldn't want them to freeze to death, would you? Just think about having to get used to new staffers and learning their names..." She winked at him with a knowing smile. „Send them over, Mr. Tucker, we'll be happy to help them."

Hank's face showed pure relief and he quickly thanked her and walked back to his snowmobile, not wanting to take the risk of Will changing her mind.

Following his fiancée back into the warmth Will took a deep breath. „Mac...!?"

„No time for a discussion, they'll be here shortly, let's clean up a little."

„But Mac! This is supposed to be _our_ holiday!"

Stepping up to him she let her hands rest on his chest and sighed. „It _is_ , Will. This is just one out of 5 nights, it will be fun. Besides, we can't say no. They know we are here, how awkward would it be back at work on Thursday if we don't let them stay with us?"

Before Will could start arguing there was another knock. „What the...? Already? He must have had them wait around the corner, that bloody basta..."

„Will, chill! They are our friends, don't forget that." Pulling him down she gave him a soft kiss. „Please?"

With this Will's resistence crumbled; he knew he couldn't withstand any pleading of hers, so he sighed and grumblingly walked to open the door.

Don, Sloan, Jim and Maggie were standing on the porch, the men carrying small overnight bags and all of them showed a rather wary expression, clearly realizig that they were intruding. Sloan was the first to take a small step forward at the sight of Will.

„Will, thank you so much for taking us in for the night. We've been freezing to death down there!"

Forcing a smile on his face he made room to let the four in. „We can't have that, can we? Come in, make yourselves comfortable."

After wiping their feet they stepped inside where Mac was just heading towards them. „Guys, we heard what happened, are you alright?"

„Yeah, we just need to thaw a little. Fuck, it's cold without heating!" Don had taken off his coat and was now rubbing his hands against each other to warm them up.

„Well, it _is_ winter in the mountains..." Will replied dryly but shut up when he caught Mac's eye.

„Come on in, guys, it's nice and warm inside." Mac waved them to follow her into the living room, where Will couldn't help but notice that the playing cards were back in the box and she had put her jewellery back on.

„Kenz, this house is amazing, it's..." suddenly Sloan squealed and rushed forward. „A fireplace! _Somebody_ _else_ was being cheap and rented a cabin without one..." Sloan grumbled with a side glance towards Don, but Will, who sensed a lover's quarrel he could _really_ do without right now, came to his rescue.

„ _Somebody else_ didn't have a choice, because these chalets and cabins are booked in advance for years already. We only got lucky because there was a short term cancellation."

Don gave him a grateful look and stepped up next to Sloan to hold his hands against the fire as well. „You really do have it nice here, Will... Honey, next year _you'll_ have to invite _me_ ; with your portfolio you can afford this house." With a grin he put his arm around Sloan's shoulder and pulled her towards him, moving his hand up and down her arm to warm her up. „I thought you liked our cabin down there?"

Sloan sighed. „I do, I'm sorry... I tend to get cranky when I'm hungrry or cold, you should know that by now..." Sloan put her arm around Don's waist and they both fell into a now comfortable silence which was only interrupted when Mac came back. „Coffee?"

Quickly turning around Sloan beamed all over. „You're a lifesaver, Mac, thank you." She deeply inhaled the scent coming from the mug and took a tentative first sip. „Aaah... So good..."

Don looked at her in amusement but also gratefully accepted a cup, just as Jim and Maggie did.

„You guys get comfortable and warm up while Will and I will take you bags to your rooms."

At this Will raised his eyebrows. „You do realize that _I'm_ the one who has a fucked up knee and ellbow?"

„Will?" Mac's tone didn't leave any room for negotiations and with a sigh he followed her. As each of the four had only brought a few things over for the night the bags weren't heavy, so he easily climbed up the stairs behind her.

In the first bedroom she placed Don's and Sloan's bags on the bed and then motioned him to bring Jim's and Maggie's stuff into the other bedroom across the hall. When he had put it down she placed her hand on his arm so that he would look at her. „Honey, you're okay?"

„Why would I? This really puts a _little_ damper on our christmas plans..." Will closed his eyes in frustration and only opened them again when he felt her hand on his cheek.

„It's fine, Billy, it really is. We already had three wonderful days and by tomorrow they'll surely have fixed the problem. We can spend one evening with our friends, can't we?"

„Of course we _can_ , but I don't want to." Will knew that his whining was pathetic and naturally he didn't want their friends to have to sleep in an ice cold cabin with no light, but he had been so much looking forward to it just being the two of them, especially on Christmas, that it was difficult to see these plans evaporate into thin air just like that.

Mac looked at him, exactly knowing what he was feeling, and moved her hand over his chest. „What if I promise to make it up to you as soon as we're alone again?"

Will's eyes darkened at her words. „That sounds... interesting... What do you have in mind?..."

Grinning she stepped closer and moved her hands under his sweater to rake her nails across his back. „How about..." Moving one hand to the front to cup him she continued „...as soon as we're alone again we'll get into the whirlpool and I show you how long I can hold my breath under water...?

Will new exactly what she meant by that and inhaled sharply, his cock already twitching in his pants at the pure thought of it. He groaned. „Mac... Fuck, do you have any idea what you're doing to me?"

Chuckling she moved her hands and stepped back. „I'm not doing anything right now... Later though..." She winked at him. „Do we have a deal?"

„Oh yes, and don't think you can wiggle out of it!" He pulled her in for a long, promising kiss before letting her go again. „Let's play host."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Once their four overnight guests had warmed up they settled around the fireplace and enjoyed the sandwiches Will had provided. Especially Jim and Maggie seemed to feel a little uncomfortable, but when they started to utter apologies for ruining their vacation it was waved off and they were assured that it was a pleasure to have them over.

„I'm sure you also had other plans for tonight than hanging around with your bosses and colleagues, so let's just make the best of it, okay? How about playing a game?"

„Eh... like charades?" Jim didn't sound too enthusiastic about this possibility, so Mac reassured him.

„We could, but there's also a games room down the hall with lots of board games. How about we start with a game of Ludo and then we'll see?

Everybody agreed so Will was sent to get the game, which Maggie won, though Will was quite sure he had caught Sloan cheating several times which she flat-out denied.

After a few bottles of wine and champagne, the latter having been sent up by Hank as a thank you for their support, the atmosphere loosened up and after a hilarious round of Taboo especially Sloan was more then a bit drunk.

They had settled on playing Trivial pursuit next, and the overall state of intoxication – the women rather more affected then the men – provided for some funny answers.

„Sloan, co... copra... cropastrat... _fuck_!" Mac, also not her normal self anymore, swore. „Co-pra-sta-sta-phobia is the fear of what?"

Her friend giggled. „Sounds like something that happens to your prostrate."

„I don't have a prostra...prostate!"

„Right... Donny-Baby?"

Don smiled amused. „Yes, Honey, I have one. Do you know the answer?"

Sloan frowned in concentration before suddenly blurting out „Copa... _whatever_ is the fear of delaying things!"

„You mean 'procrastination', Sweetie, and I don't think there is a phobia connected with it..." Don pointed out. „What's the orrect answer, Mac?"

„Hmmm?" Mac was looking up from her hand that was entangled with Will's. „Did you know that Will's hands are awfully soft, Don, even though he plays guitar?"

Maggie snorted while Will blushed heavily. „Mac! I think it's time for some coffee – Who wants one?" He got up and counted the hands that went up, silently adding Mac's as well, who was now fixated on her own fingers, to the list before going to the kitchen. Jim snatched the card from Mac in the meantime to finish off this round. „Coprastastaphobia is the fear of constipation. Wow, didn't wanna know that..."

Mac leaned into Will who had returned while the coffee was running through the machine, and looked at him with wide eyes. „Am I winning, Billy?"

„Just keep playing, Honey, you're doing great." As much as Will adored tipsy Mac he was glad that they had shared a nice meal before the drinking started or she would have probably passed out by now. With a happy smile she snuggled into him. „That is wonderful, I _like_ winning..."

When a short time later Jim handed her a cup of coffee, the scent alone caused her to sit right up again. „Oh, who had that genius idea?"

„It was me, but Jim got it from the kitchen for us. Drink and then I'll take you out on the veranda for a minute, I think you need some fresh air. Anybody care to join us?"

The others, well, the male parts of the couples anyhow, nodded their consent, so a little while later they were all looking at the beautiful landscape in the moonlight, taking deep breath in the crisp air.

After the short break they returned to their game, the men definitely in the lead. „Your turn, Mac, roll the dice."

Getting a four her face took on a slightly desperate look. „Green, I can only go to green... I hate green questions!" At least she remembered that the colour stood for 'Science and Economy'.

Will supportingly squeezed her thigh. „Just wait, maybe it won't be too bad. Jim?"

„Okay..." Jim drew a card and scanned the question. „Oh, this one's easy, Mac: 'Name a type of foreign money'."

Taking her lower lip between her teeth Mac riveled her forehead, concentrating on the task, and then she started beaming. „Monopoly!"

Their four guests started snickering while Will pulled Mac in his arms for comfort. „I think you need another coffee, Love, not even _you_ would get that one wrong when completely sober."

Mac didn't reply but buried her head in his chest, telling Will that she was slowly reaching the end of the talkative part of her tipsiness.

„Okay, my turn." Sloan took the dice and landed on a yellow field while Jim handed the card box to Maggie. Taking the front one she read „Who was Bismarck?"

„I know, I know, I know! A herring!" Sloan looked unreasonable proud of her answer and pouted when the rest of the group – save Mac who was slowly drifting off - burst out laughing. „ _It is!_ I've eaten one when I was covering a convention of the International Monetary Fund in Hamburg a few years ago!"

Maggie was busy wiping the tears away that resulted from the hard laughter while Don tried to appease Sloan. „I'm sure you did, Love, but look at the board – You're on yellow, that's history." He bit back his grin. „Try again..."

Sloan rolled her eyes and spoke up with a sudden and final clear thought. „Oh, sometimes you are so dull... _Of course_ Bismarck was chancellor of Prussia who was responsible for the first welfare state in the modern world. Don't forget that I wrote „Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic – The Economics of Post World War One Germany!"

„Of course you did, I know, Pookie, come here." Don also opened his arms for his girlfriend, so that two out of three women were now clearly out of the game, and looked around. „What do you say? We'll finish this tomorrow?"

The others nodded and then Jim suggested „Hey, it's christmas, how about some music?"

Will raised his eyebrows „Did you ever hear Mackenzie sing?"

„Actually I did. You wouldn't believe what people can put up with in the middle of a war zone and even learn to enjoy..." Jim smirked at Mac who indignantly huffed at this remark. „But in the end we didn't ask her to sing anymore because all her songs were about lost love, heartbreak, heartache, that sort of sing. Became kind of depressing after a while..."

„Well, that's past, Jimbo, but thanks for bringing it up..." Mac murmered while looking at Will with a soft smile. „No need for sad love songs anymore. Ever."

Will smiled back and gently squeezed her thigh. „Ever." Before he could get lost in her eyes he then cleared his throat. „So, something upbeat? Let's start with _Jingle Bells_ , okay? Jim, I saw some guitars in the games room, would you go get a couple?"

Jim nodded and quickly got up. When he returned he handed one instrument to Will while Mac sat up to give him space to play. Once they had made sure the guitars were in tune they started the song with the others joining in with their voices.

They made quite a nice choir and when the song was over other cheery songs like _Ol' Saint Nicholas, Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer_ and _I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus_ followed, before they switched to quieter carols. Finally they closed with _Silent Night_ , Don and Sloan snuggled against each other and half asleep already.

Finally Will put his guitar aside and moved over to take Mac into his arms again who immediately sank against his chest. Jim looked at Maggie though. „Ready for the grand finale?"

Her eyes turned wide. „Are you serious?"

„Sure, come on, we've done it often enough..."

„I know, but still..." Maggie hesitated, but when Jim played a few chords she sighed and nodded. „Okay... But you..." she looked at the other two couples. „...are not to laugh, understood?"

This caught Don's attention and he scooted up in his seat. „ _Now_ I'm curious... We won't laugh, promise."

Maggie stuck out her tongue at him, but when Jim started the melody she joined him in singing _Baby, it's cold outside_ , reminding Mac of the beautiful duet by Doris Day and Bing Crosby. Nervous at first Maggie's voice got stronger while the song moved along and about a third in she was as much at ease as Jim and obviously enjoying herself. When they finished everybody applauded and Don even whistled in appreciation. „That was great, I didn't even know you could sing that well!"

Maggie blushed a little but shrugged and leaned into Jim who had put his guitar down. „You've never asked me to."

Don bowed his head and smiled at her before leaning his head against Sloan's resting on his shoulder and looked into the fire. All of them fell quiet, each couple in its own world but still aware of the others. Finally, it was way past midnight already, Mac yawned and sat up. „I'm beat, we should go to bed, Billy."

Will nodded and the others started to move as well, everybody mumbling something about being dead tired, too. When Maggie started to collect the dirty cups Mac told her to leave them for the next morning and just get to bed, not waiting to see if she would follow her instruction and pulling Will towards the stairs. „Night, you guys."

„Good night, Mac. Will."

„Night, Will. Night, Mac. Sleep well."

„Good night, you two!"

Will, already a couple steps up the stairs, waved and followed his fiancée, mumbling something about being like the Waltons, but Mac could hear him smile.

When they got to their bedroom she closed the door and turned around to hook her arms around his neck. „Well was this so bad?"

„No." Will conceded. „It was actually quite nice..."

A smile lit up Mac's face and she leaned in for a sound kiss. „I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself, Billy... Thank you. And I promise we will finish our poker game and take a dip in the whirlpool once they are gone..."

Will smirked. „Did you really think I'd let you off the hook?"

Her answer was a predatory grin.  
„Do you think I would even want you to..? Merry Christmas, Billy..."

::::::::::::::::::::::

 _And Merry Christmas to you!_

 _(An M-rated version of this chapter can be found on AO3. But say, is this fandom really dying? Would be a shame!)  
_


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